Fic: Keeping Good Company 2/?
CHAPTER TWO
Sam had first been to see Jessica’s family when he had been invited to her house for Thanksgiving a couple years ago. He and Jess had been starting to get serious and she insisted that he come with her when she found out he had no plans to spend the holiday with his family.
He remembered it being nothing like what he had expected. Based off Jess’ ecstatic descriptions, Sam had expected some sort of domestic Xanadu rather than the chaotic environment he was thrust into. Her stepmother was a short wiry-haired woman who was so “free spirited” she tended to forget earthly things like turning off stove burners and dusting, and her teenage half-brother stomped around the house with a set of enormous headphones, alternating between moodily ignoring everyone and shouting at them to leave him alone. It took him two days of sitting in their kitchen chopping vegetables while listening to whale song to understand that this was Jess’ Xanadu. After that, it didn’t take him long to appreciate it as well. He returned to school after the weekend with a new bond with her family, and missing his own more than he ever had.
And now, as they drove closer to Jess’ home, Sam began to feel some excitement that came close to matching Jess’ at coming to visit.
“Dude, imagine the best apple crumble you’ve ever had.”
“Missy’s,” Dean answered instantly. “You know, when we were hunting that creepy farmer-ghost in Iowa?”
“Okay, so then multiply that by, like, ten. And add in some pecan pie. Then you’re getting close to what this tastes like. I’m telling you, it’s like a party in heaven. In your mouth.”
“Food orgy. Sweet.”
“That’s disgusting,” Jess commented from the backseat, barely glancing up from her phone. “Mom texted me back. She says that if we want coffee with dessert, we’ll need to pick it up.”
“She’s going coffee-free again?” Sam asked.
“For the fifth time this year,” Jess smiled.
Whenever Sam had visited, there was always something that Nicole was cleansing from her diet. But whether it was caffeine, meat, or citrus fruits, she never seemed able to stick to it longer than a week or so.
They were able to pick up a can of coffee from a nearby grocery store, decaf because of the late hour, to Dean’s dismay, barely delaying their trip to Jess’ childhood home. As they pulled up in front of the house, Sam took a satisfied look at the familiar building. It was a small, bi-level home with blue trim around the outside. Although old, it was in excellent repair, and boasted an enormous backyard that contained a garden and an aging swing set. The door had a large glass window in it, although there were so many charms and crystals hanging from it, Sam still couldn’t see clearly inside the house.
Jess used her spare key to open the door, and she called out as she stepped in.
“Jess!” Nicole was an extremely petite woman with a penchant for floor length skirts that made her look even shorter. She came from the direction of the kitchen and got flour all over Sam, Jess, and Dean as she greeted each of them. “Sam, I can’t believe you never brought your brother over to visit before,” she scolded Sam mildly. “And he’s such a nice man, too.”
“There just never seemed like a good time,” Sam shrugged sheepishly. The half-hearted excuse seemed easier than explaining their years-long estrangement, subsequent reuniting, and being on the run from a demon.
Jess, however, was never one to cut corners with her stepmother. “Mom, we’ve been running from a demon,” she explained patiently as they came into the kitchen. “I told you that. That doesn’t give us a lot of time for causal social visits.”
“Well, of course I know all about that, honey.” Nicole opened the coffee can and inhaled the aroma like it was her dying breath.
“You going to last?” Sam teased gently.
“I’ll have some herbal tea,” Nicole replied primly. “Jessie, your father’s trailer’s parked out back like it always is. You can look through it after we’ve eaten. But you’re still staying the night, right?”
“We’ll stay the night,” Jess promised.
“Good, cause I had Dylan make sure to clean the spare room and-Dylan!” She shouted loudly, surprising Sam and Dean with her sudden volume. Jess remained completely unfazed. “Come out and say hello!”
Jess’ half-brother Dylan stuck his head out the entryway for the den and gave Jess a sleepy smile.
“Hey,” he greeted.
“Dylan!” Jess wasted no time in pulling her brother into a strangling chokehold and dragging him to the Winchesters.
“Ack! Jess, let go!”
She released his head, but wrapped a firm arm around his shoulders, tousling his hat-covered hair.
“Hi, Dylan,” Sam greeted. Taking pity on Nicole, he flicked the coffee maker on and began spooning grounds into the filter.
“Dylan, this is Dean. Sam’s brother,” Jess introduced.
“Hey,” Dylan grumbled.
“Hey,” Dean replied awkwardly.
Sam watched the awkward exchange with interest.
“So… What are you listening to?” Dean gestured to the headphones that seemed super-glued to Dylan’s head.
“Eminem,” Dylan mumbled.
“Oh,” Dean winced.
Then, miraculously, Dylan’s eyes caught sight of the road through the kitchen window.
“Sweet car,” he complemented.
“It’s a ’67 Impala,” Dean replied, puffing up. “You like cars?”
“Dude, are you kidding?” Dylan pushed hair out of his face and leaned forward in a rare display of enthusiasm.
Leaving Dylan and Dean to their conversation for now, Sam turned to Jess and Nicole.
“I’ve had a few calls from some of your Stanford friends,” Nicole was telling Jess. “They’re worried about you.”
“Did you tell them our cover story? Road trip across America?”
“Yes, honey, but that doesn’t really make sense to anyone that knows you two. Sam was all set to go to Law school, and you were starting to look at grad school, too…” She trailed off, fidgeting with her long necklace.
“We’re still planning on doing those things, Nicole,” Sam reassured. “But this right here…”
“I know,” Nicole brushed off quickly. “But the thought of you two driving around the country fighting God knows what… Jessie, you better keep calling me once a week, you hear? I don’t want to know any details about what you shot, or who you exorcised, but you call me and tell me that you’re okay, got it?”
“Of course, Mom.”
“Good,” Nicole nodded, brushing the corner of her eye so quickly that Sam almost missed it. “Now, Jess, you get some plates down, and Sam, you get the ice cream.”
Nicole’s apple crumble was every bit as delicious as Sam remembered. The combination of fresh dessert and hot coffee made Sam contentedly sleepy, especially after the long drive.
It was still early evening, though, and they could get a lot of work done. With a slight push, he forced himself to get up from the table and start gathering plates, ear half-tuned to Dean and Dylan’s extended car conversation.
“You should take him out front and show him the car,” Sam suggested. “Jess and I’ll get started in the trailer.”
“Nah, I can help you and Jess.” Although Dean tried to look sincere, his eyes strayed to the kitchen window, betraying his intentions.
“Go,” Sam insisted. “Maybe if you show someone who understands all the repairs you did on the thing, you’ll stop trying to explain it to me when we’re on the road.”
“We won’t be long,” Dean promised, gulping the last of his coffee and dragging a very willing Dylan towards the front door.
“I got some boxes so you can pack all of Ian’s things and bring them in the house.” Nicole nodded in the direction of several cardboard orange boxes. “It’ll be nicer going through them in here rather than in that musty old trailer.”
“Okay,” Jess nodded. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Thanks, Nicole,” Sam echoed.
The large RV-style trailer had been parked in Jess’ backyard ever since Sam’s first visit. When he had asked about it, Jess simply replied that it had been her father’s, and that no one in the family was ready to get rid of it yet. Now that he knew about Ian Moore’s hunting career, he was a little more interested.
“Why the trailer?” Sam asked as he crossed the soft green yard with Jess.
“My dad was on the road probably as much as your family,” Jess shrugged. “A trailer makes sense, if you think about it. Instead of always moving and setting up protection in motel rooms, you just take your home with you. I’m surprised you managed with just a car.”
“It’s not just a car,” Sam defended, not really sure why he was taking offense.
“I know,” Jess replied lightly, slipping her hand into his. “It’s more than that for you and Dean. Here, let me get the lock.” She pulled out her set of keys and inserted one in the door.
“So your mom is okay with keeping his trailer in her yard?” Sam wondered as Jess swung the door open.
“They may have divorced a long time ago, but my mom and my dad were still really close, in their own way,” Jess explained. “She was never interested in any of his hunting stuff, although occasionally she’ll come across something in her New Age-y magazines that’s got some truth to it. This trailer’s always been my dad’s, though, and I think she didn’t want to just get rid of it without me looking through it first. But I never had a reason to until now.” She clicked the switch of the light fixture, and growled softly when nothing happened. “Battery must be out,” she explained. “Can you open that drawer to your right? That’s where he kept the flashlights.”
The narrow beams of light cast cool shadows around the trailer. Jess pulled out an electric lantern and hung it above the table. Old coffee stains jumped into focus at the light swung back and forth.
“This was always my dad’s place,” she spoke softly. “I remember when I was just a little girl, I would sit here at that table and help him fill shells with salt. He let me start melting the silver ones when I turned twelve.”
Sam stroked her hand with his thumb. “Are you okay, Jess?”
“Yeah,” she replied. ‘It’s just funny, you know? The stuff you remember?” She shook her head slightly. “Let’s get this packed up.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Although her mother had suggested otherwise, Jess soon found herself combing through her father’s things in the trailer with Sam rather than taking it back to the house. There were too many memories for her to simply push aside, and various journal entries brought a story that she had to share with the boys, and that usually prompted a return story by either Sam, or Dean, when he joined them, of their own lives on the hunt. The rapidly fading twilight increased their dependence on the flashlights and gave the stories an eerie, camp-fire feel.
“Your dad really hunted a nest of vampires?” Dean asked Jess. “I thought they were extinct.”
“Pretty much,” Jess shrugged, skimming through a book on Native American myths. “That was the last nest Dad came across, and that was… What, seven years ago?”
“Still. That’s pretty awesome.”
“Jess. Dean. I found something,” Sam announced.
“What?” Jess crowded close to Sam, elbowing Dean to get a better angle.
“It’s a list, like the one Dad had of locations and dates where the demon struck.”
“We’ll have to check it against Dad’s,” Dean decided. “See if there’s any differences between the two.”
“What else is there, Sam?” Jess asked. “Dad would’ve kept all his information on the demon in the same place.”
“Some more information on demons in general,” Sam replied, flicking through the pages. “Exorcisms, incantations… This is interesting.” Sam pointed to a complicated circular drawing. “A Key of Solomon. He says that this will trap and incapacitate a demon.”
“Sounds useful,” Dean shrugged. “If it works.”
“If it’s in that journal, it works,” Jess replied. “My dad wouldn’t have put something in like that without testing it.”
“There’s the usual stuff about holy water and rosaries,” Sam continued with his catalogue. “And this…” He paused on one page, and ran his finger quickly along the small typewritten text. “It’s a story of some kind. Although I can’t tell its origin…”
“Still, demon lore is demon lore,” Dean shrugged. “Unless it tells us to fight them off using daisies and cotton candy, I say we take a look at it. What’s it say?”
“Uh… It’s talking about a demon who used to go into homes and prey on children. Babies.”
Jess felt a prickle of familiarity on the back of her neck. “Does it mention any special powers?”
Her own abilities weighed heavily in her mind almost constantly. When they had first arrived home, she was stunned to feel the steady flow of emotion from both her mother and brother, familiar and yet thrown into clear, sharp imagery that she hadn’t been able to pick up on before. Now, standing in the trailer, she felt anticipation and nerves that were so heavy they couldn’t be her own entirely.
“Yeah, it does.” Sam replied. “It says that each baby has a different-” He stopped abruptly, pushing the book across the table and as far away from him as possible. “No,” he gasped, face pale in the flashlight beam.
She reached out to him instinctively, and almost fainted with the shock of emotions flooding her system. The tangle was so confusing, she could barely sort it out. There was shock, anger, shame... Too many for her to handle.
Dean had picked up the abandoned book from the table, and ran a practiced eye down the page.
“It says in the story,” Dean continued, voice husky and shaking. “That each baby was fed demon blood at a young age. And that’s how they got all these special powers when they grew older.”
“What?” Jess asked sharply, nausea rapidly rising.
“They’re called the demon’s children. In the story,” Sam spoke up weakly.
The silence that filled the small trailer was enough to make Jess’ ears explode.
“It’s not true.” Dean, of course, was the first to break the silence. “Like you said, Sam, it’s just a story.”
“No,” Jess shook her head. “When Brady… that demon was in our apartment, he said something. He mentioned that…” She closed her eyes, trying to recall the words. “That ‘daddy’ didn’t want his kids playing together. Or something like that. The story’s true. It’s demon blood; that’s what causing my psychic thing, and Sam’s vision. He saw my death because it was the demon that wanted to kill me.”
Jess couldn’t read minds, but she felt as if she could as she watched the two brothers. Sam was frozen in a state of near shock, wrists upturned on the table as if he could burn the contaminated blood out of his body by staring at his veins. Dean, meanwhile, was so busy processing the landmine of information that he practically had smoke coming out of his ears. And Jess herself… She felt hollow, observing everything like she was looking through a window at the end of a long hallway.
“It doesn’t mean anything,” Dean finally announced. “Not about you, not about Jess.”
“Dean,” Sam spoke softly. “Are you even paying attention? How can you say that demon bred supernatural abilities are an okay thing? What this is?” He smacked the story with his hand. “It sounds like the kind of thing that we hunt.”
“Sammy, I’ve known you all your life,” Dean replied with passion. “And I can say with absolute certainty that there isn’t an evil bone in your body. Now, what this demon might have done to you? You couldn’t control that. That has nothing to do with who you are today. Do you think any of these kids in the story are evil?”
“Not when they’re babies,” Sam replied. “But when they grow up-”
“Sam. That’s not going to happen,” Dean interrupted. “Do you know why?”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not gonna let it, you hear? That goes for both of you. Whatever this crap is, we’ll deal with it, just like we always planned, and then both of you will go back to living happily ever after for the rest of your lives, never worrying about demons again.”
“That’s very sweet,” a voice drawled from the doorway. “Too bad right now, you’ve got a lot of demons to deal with.”
Jess whirled around to get a closer look at their intruder.
“Mom?” she gasped.
Her mother’s eyes flickered black as her mouth stretched into a terrible smile.
“Sorry, Jessie, Mom’s not here right now.”